Stevie Frail is hoping that Celtic’s development side can turn on the style tonight against Everton in their opening tie in the Premier League International Cup.
Goodison Park under the floodlights will provide an impressive setting for the match with the hoops able to call upon Liam Henderson, Darnell Fisher, Eoghan O’Connell and Filip Twardzik for the match.
Over the last couple of seasons Celtic have faced Barcelona, Sporting Lisbon, Ajax and AC Milan in the Next Gen Series and u-19 Champions League with the new look International Cup catching the attention of club’s south of the border.
One of the best Celtic displays in recent seasons was a 4-2 win over Manchester City in the Next Gen Series in 2011with Tony Watt, Callum McGregor and Dylan McGeouch among those that caught the eye.
Tonight’s match is for u-21 side’s with Frail excited by the prospect of playing a top English side in a competitive match.
“We are one of eight clubs invited into this competition by the Premier League and that’s a big compliment, and responsibility, for us,” the Celtic coach explained. “This competition is aimed towards the senior end of the academy and we’re looking forward to facing Everton.
“It’ll be under the lights at Goodison and that’s the sort of occasion that everyone wants to be involved in. We’ve played Everton a number of times in recent seasons and know that they have a great record for developing players.
“Leon Osman, Tony Hibbert and Ross Barkley are all in the current first team and before that they brought through Wayne Rooney the current England captain.
“We’ve developed  James Forest and Callum McGregor and hopefully there are a few more that can force their way into the first team picture.
“There’s a little bit of experience in the squad of these type of games, in our preparations we’ve looked at the game at Man City a few years ago where we did really well and also the game at Aston Villa where we seemed overawed in the first half.”
Frail added: “We had a disappointing performance at Motherwell in our last match but we’ve had a full week to work on things and get it out of our system.
“The preparation for this game has gone well and the players are determined to show what they are capable of. We’re looking forward to the match and determined to put on a good show.”
You can follow tonight’s action on TWITTER